Rajat
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What do the following items have in common? A pair of pink fluffy handcuffs...
...a head massager, a honey bunny soft toy...
...a stuffed toy Clanger and a broken handcuff?
In each case, they are the only things that are left of a failed relationship
The Museum of Broken Relationships is a travelling art concept set up by former lovers Olinka Vištica and Drazen Grubišić. It is currently visiting Singapore
Every object in the museum is anonymous, and has a short description of the relationship it was part of. This teddy bear is all that remains of a failed romance between a Malay woman and a Chinese man who met in Singapore, where marriages between different ethnic groups are uncommon. The woman kept her relationship a secret from her family and, unable to keep photos or other mementos of their relationship, only had the bear she received from her boyfriend as the sole symbol of their love
This prosthetic limb was donated by a Balkan war veteran who fell in love with his physiotherapist . "The prosthesis had a longer life-span than the relationship. It was made of better material," the donor writes
A stuffed toy in the shape of a centipede. A couple in a long-distance relationship tore off a leg from the centipede each time they were able to meet. They broke up before all the legs were removed
A bottle-opener shaped like a key, and a pair of hands that were formerly attached to a mannequin which bore the brunt of anger from the dissolution of a five-year love-hate relationship
A pair of underpants labelled '2003 - 2005, Zagreb. For him too small... but I didn't mind at all'
The Museum of Broken Relationships is at the Singapore Fringe Festival till January 19 and opens in San Francisco on Valentine's Day. People who want to donate items can do so via the museum's website
